United scrape first win

Tevez: Deflected Nani strike

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Manchester United scraped an unconvincing first win of the season as Nani's goal saw off a stubborn Tottenham Hotspur side at Old Trafford.

The summer signing from Sporting Lisbon proved the match-winner as his 30-yard shot brushed off Carlos Tevez en route to the goal midway through the second half.

But Spurs will feel aggrieved at the outcome, having come closest to scoring on numerous occasions, including in the opening 30 seconds when Robbie Keane clipped the bar.

Rio Ferdinand and Wes Brown both cleared off the line in the second period, although both incidents had Spurs demanding a penalty.

The Premier League champions hung on for the points, while Martin Jol will hope the performance of his players is enough to keep the wolves from the door.

Precise

Keane had the perfect opportunity to give Spurs the ideal start. After Nani gifted Steed Malbranque possession deep inside his own half, he fed Dimitar Berbatov.

The Bulgarian's precise flick offered Keane his sight of goal. But, from 20 yards, the Spurs skipper could only clip the top of Edwin van der Sar's crossbar.

It was the nearest either side came to breaking the deadlock during an opening period memorable for the frequent songs of the Tottenham faithful offering their backing to Jol and for the number of times United got to within 40 yards of the visitors' goal and created precisely nothing.

On his home debut, Owen Hargreaves was off target with two long-range efforts, Paul Scholes flicked a shot wide and Michael Carrick shaved the post with a 25-yard effort.

In the second half, Spurs had the best chance as Ricardo Rocha climbed above Ferdinand but, from barely six yards, could only head Gareth Bale's free-kick wide.

After former Spurs midfielder Carrick was taken off, it proved to be the spark for a 10-minute period in which Tottenham came agonisingly close to scoring.

Off the line

Berbatov must have thought he had opened the scoring when he rose first after a tangle with Nemanja Vidic, then prodded a shot through Van der Sar's legs, only for Ferdinand to boot clear from on his own line.

Minutes later, Steed Malbranque threaded through a pass for Berbatov, who flicked the ball over the onrushing Van der Sar.

As he lined up his shot, the ball struck Brown, with one angle showing it to hit his chest, and the other suggesting a hand may have been involved, with Spurs' protests only drawing a yellow card for Berbatov and not the desired penalty.

With United riding their luck, Nani collected the ball 30 yards from goal and unleashed a fierce shot which nicked Tevez on its way past the fingertips of Robinson.

Spurs pressed for an equaliser in the final 10 minutes, but were unable to create another opportunity as Jol saw his side slip to a third defeat in four games.